Essex Decision, Summary, Facts, Significance

The Essex Decision was a British court ruling that overturned the Polly Decision (1800) and required American merchant ships to comply with the Rule of 1756. The United States responded with the Non-Importation Act of 1806, part of the economic sanctions that helped cause the War of 1812 between the U.S. and Britain.

Essential Facts

The Essex Decision occurred during America’s New Nation Era (1783–1815), when Thomas Jefferson was President.
The ruling was issued around May 22, 1805.
It changed British policy toward neutral shipping and reexports and forced American merchants to provide paperwork proving they were properly reexporting goods and complying with the Rule of 1756.
The ruling placed the burden of proof on U.S. merchants. If they were accused of smuggling, they were guilty until proven innocent or until they provided the proper paperwork.
British seizures of U.S. ships increased after the ruling, which hurt American trade.
The U.S. responded with the Non-Importation Act of 1806, placing economic sanctions on Britain.

Significance

The Essex Decision is important to American History because it altered British foreign policy toward neutral nations like the United States while Britain was at war with France. Some Americans called for President Thomas Jefferson to declare war on Britain. However, he decided to use economic sanctions against Britain. The Non-Importation Act of 1806 prohibited the importation of some British goods into the U.S.

Essex Decision Overview and History

The Essex Decision, issued by the Lords Commissioners of Appeals in early 1805, determined that American ships transporting goods to nations at war with Great Britain had to comply with the Rule of 1756. This decision changed British policy toward shipping by neutral nations and increased tensions between the United States and Britain.

The Rule of 1756

The Rule of 1756 was a British policy, not an international law.
It declared that “…ships from neutral nations in wartime were only permitted to carry cargos that were permissible in peacetime…”
Britain was often at war with France and Spain, so it sought to disrupt their trade with their colonies in the West Indies and with other nations.
The Rule applied to ships from neutral nations, such as the Netherlands, who were carrying goods between France, Spain, and their colonies.
It allowed the British Royal Navy to stop and seize these ships without proof they had violated the Rule of 1756.
Britain had the most powerful naval force in the world, so it could enforce the Rule of 1756 with little opposition.

The Broken Voyage Loophole

After the Rule of Law was implemented, neutral nations found a loophole. Essentially, they carried goods from colonies at war with Britain to neutral ports. Upon arrival, they unloaded the cargo, paid any duties that were due, reloaded the cargo, and continued to their final destination. Under this scenario, a Dutch ship could sail from the French West Indies to the Netherlands and then to France. This was known as a “Broken Voyage” because the goods did not go directly from the French Colonies to France (which would make it a “Continuous Voyage”).

American Merchant Ships and the Rule of 1756

During the French and Indian War, the American Colonies were still part of the British Empire and subject to the Navigation Acts.
The Rule of 1756 applied to American merchant ships and banned them from trading with French Colonies in the West Indies.
Some historians consider enforcement of the Rule of 1756 to be the beginning of the end of Salutary Neglect. However, Americans continued to smuggle goods to and from the West Indies.

The United States, Neutrality, and the Rule of 1756

Following the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1783), the United States was a new nation with limited military resources and a weak foreign policy.
The Treaty of Alliance (1778) and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (1778) officially allied the U.S. with France.
In 1785, the United States and Great Britain agreed to Jay’s Treaty (1785), which allowed American ships to enter British ports.
The French Revolution started in 1789, and France went to war with Britain in 1793.
President George Washington refused to involve the U.S. in the war and issued his Proclamation of Neutrality (1793). Congress followed this with the Neutrality Act (1794).
American neutrality upset France because of the treaties it signed with the U.S. in 1778.
Tensions between France and the U.S. led to the XYZ Affair (1797–1800) and the Quasi-War (1798–1800).
The Convention of 1800 between the U.S. and France ended the Quasi-War and restored trade with France.
Britain and France were still at war, and the U.S. maintained its neutral stance, making its “merchantmen” neutral ships subject to the Rule of 1756.
American ships used the Broken Voyage Loophole to transport goods between France, Spain, and their colonies in the West Indies.

The Polly Decision Relaxes Enforcement of the Rule of 1756

In the winter of 1800, the British seized the American ship Polly in the North Atlantic.
The Polly was transporting goods from the Spanish West Indies to Spain but had Massachusetts to pick up fish and ensure a Broken Voyage.
The Admiralty Court in Halifax, Nova Scotia, upheld the seizure of the ship and its cargo.
The case was appealed to the High Court of Admiralty.
The High Court of Admiralty overturned the lower court’s decision.
The Polly Decision allowed the U.S. reexport trade to grow from $40 million in 1800 to $60 million in 1805.

The Essex Incident

The Essex was an American ship that had been seized in 1799, prior to the Polly Decision.
It was carrying wine from Spain to Havana, Cuba, but stopped in Salem, Massachusetts.
When the ship was seized, the Captain was unable to provide the proper documentation proving the cargo had been legally imported into the United States and reexported to Cuba.

The Court Rules Against Owners of the Essex

The court ruled that reexporting the wine from the United States was meant to deceive the British.
Spain had banned other nations from trading with its colonies before the Anglo-Spanish War (1796–1808). Because of this, the trade was considered illegal, and the Essex was subject to seizure by the British.

Impact of the Essex Decision

Afterward, U.S. merchant ships were seized by the British Royal Navy.
Although the Essex Decision made it harder for U.S. merchants to avoid British regulations, they found ways to make their trade appear legal, which prevented a significant decline in trade.
The ruling placed the burden of proof of neutral trade on the ship’s owner, not the captain of the British vessel seizing the ship.
Merchants were considered guilty until they could prove their innocence.
This was similar to the provisions found in the Sugar Act (1764).
The decision violated U.S. neutrality and was seen as an insult.
U.S. Ambassador James Monroe tried to discuss the ruling with British officials but was ignored.
The U.S. responded to the Essex Decision with the Non-Importation Act of 1806.

Essex Decision APUSH

The Essex Decision is part of the following units and chapters in the AP US History curriculum:

Unit 4: 1800–1848

Topic 4.4 — America on the World Stage

American Pageant Notes

Chapter 7 — The Road to Revolution (1763–1775)
Chapter 11 — Triumphs and Travails of the Jeffersonian Republic (1800–1812)

Vocabulary

The following terms and definitions provide more information and context for students studying the Essex Decision.

Boarding Party — A group of seamen designated to storm over the sides of another vessel in order to capture it.

Blockade — In terms of foreign relations between the United States, France, and Great Britain, the term Blockade means a naval Blockage of coastal ports. Blockades were used to prevent merchant ships and warships from certain nations from accessing ports. Britain used Orders in Council to set up a blockade of the coast of Europe, while France used the Berlin Decree (1806) and Milan Decree (1807) to blockade British ships from accessing European ports.

Broken Voyages and Continuous Voyages — Broken Voyages were trips made by merchant ships that loaded goods in a neutral port (in America) before sailing to a port in a nation at war with Britain, such as France or Spain. This allowed goods to be shipped from Spanish Colonies in North America to Spain and bypassed the Rule of 1756. Under the rule, neutral ships making a Continuos Voyage from an enemy port (in New Spain) to an enemy nation (Spain) could be seized by British authorities. However, many American merchants stopped unloading their cargo in the neutral ports before sailing to their final destination. Eventually, British officials decided to put a stop to this because they considered a journey that did not unload cargo to be a Continuous Voyage. Ships were required to show documentation that proved they had followed the proper process for shipping goods.

Free Trade and Sailors’ Rights — This phrase became a popular slogan in the United States during the buildup to the War of 1812. The slogan supported the U.S. going to war and protested the British Orders in Council, Napoleon’s Continental System, and the Impressment of American seamen by the British Royal Navy.

Merchantman — A privately owned ship involved in commercial activities.

Prize — A Prize was an enemy vessel seized during wartime and subsequently sold. The money raised from the sale was divided among the men involved in the ship’s capture. The possibility of earning prize money enticed men into joining the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy during the War of 1812.

Reexports — Reexports — or reshipments — are goods exported from one port (France) to another (United States) and then to a final destination (French West Indies). Reexports were part of the loophole American merchants used to avoid the seizure of their ships under the provisions of the Rule of 1756.

Written by Randal Rust